Othello Port approves 2024 budget, in good financial position

OTHELLO — The Port of Othello approved its 2024 budget during the Oct. 31 regular Board of Commissioners meeting, after minor discussion and adjustment of some budget items.

Port Executive Director Chris Faix explained the budget compared to the previous year.

“I think we're up just a little bit … between 5% and 10% up on the budget,” Faix said. “And we do have our water tower project starting next year, and we have that airport project that's going to be (starting) and that's mostly grant money.”

Faix said they received grant money from the Federal Aviation Administration for a pavement rehabilitation project at the Othello Municipal Airport. 

The port’s 2024 budget lists a total of $1,305,031 in operating revenue and $1,150,439 in operating expenses. Non-operating revenue – from taxes collected – was listed at a total of $23,000, and non-operating expenses – from taxes remitted to the government – were listed at $29,000.

“I believe the port's been in a pretty good financial position all along…We have a good chunk of (money) in an investment account, so it's just growing all the time, and we're able to run with the new tax money each year as well as the other money we generate from the airport and incubator building and the leases here, so we can run the day-to-day stuff and we don't have to dip into our resources, our reserves,” Faix said. “When we do sell some land or bring in larger chunks of money, then it can go into the reserve and continue to build. So financially speaking, I believe the port is in a very stable, good spot. Again, that makes it to where we're able to do a project like building the water tower or working on the airport and that kind of stuff. Otherwise, we'd have to go get bigger loans.”

The port secured $5 million from the Washington Community Economic Revitalization Board for the installation of a new water tower on port property last May. Faix said it is scheduled to be up and running by January 2026. 

“We’ll be spending a considerable amount of money on the water tower,” Faix said. “We will get reimbursed for it through the loan and then part of that is grant money, but that's going to be a big project because we are also going to be responsible for, we don't know the final number yet, but roughly 20% we're going to have to come up with out of our own pockets.”

$3.75 million of the CERB funding is a low-interest loan and $1.25 million is grant money. Along with the airport pavement rehabilitation, Faix said those projects will be the port’s spending focus aside from day-to-day operations.

“Doing this water tower project, that's going to be one of the bigger projects,” Faix said. “This was one where we had to take on a loan. We looked into grants and we got as much grant money as we could. This is definitely one of the top two or three (projects) that I know of, anyway, that the port’s done. So kind of exciting, because we don’t have those every year.”

Faix said that both current and previous port commissioners have been very good stewards of the public’s money.

“I believe, with the world and the economy going the way it is, expenses and revenue are both going to be up,” Faix said, “so our bottom line won't change a whole lot, which is good and bad, I guess, because we are going to be spending a little more, but we do have a little more revenue to help offset that.”

Faix said that as far as he knows the port hasn’t had to utilize levies as a funding source.

“We can, if we needed to generate another larger amount of money like a school levy or bond,” he said. “We have the ability to do that, but we have been able to run just on what we get as a junior taxing district each year, along with the other money that we generate.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    The Port of Othello sign outside the port’s office in Othello. Most of the port’s land and budget are focused on the Bruce Industrial Park. Executive Director Chris Faix said one of the Port’s biggest projects for 2024 – and previous years – is installing a new water tower and piping in Bruce.
 File photo